The proliferation of touch panel assemblies, such as those that incorporate a graphical user interface in lieu of devices that employ traditional push button assemblies and/or other assemblies that require more manual user input, has coincided with a need to provide the user with haptic feedback. Haptic feedback may include vibration or other movement that can be detected by as user's sense of touch. The haptic feedback provided by touch panel assemblies can enhance the user's experience by confirming activation of a certain command or providing sensations that better coincide to images on a graphical user interface display, for example. Such feedback may be particularly beneficial for vehicular applications so that drivers can haptically sense that their input is received while remaining focused on the road. Combinations of actuators and suspension components may be used to facilitate relative movement of touch panel assembly components.
Conventional haptic feedback in vehicular applications, however, only actuates movement in one degree of freedom, which limits the feedback to simple movement in one direction so that all feedback sensations feel the same to the driver, passenger, or other user. For instance, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0060437 by Steckel et al. discloses a haptic operating control for use in a vehicle. The operating control described by Steckel uses an oscillator coil that vibrates in a single direction normal to the touch surface.